Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Next Step for the Comeback of the Friendship TrailBridge

You did it. Thanks to your work we won our vote to delaying demolishing the bridge. This isn’t just about the bridge; we’ve shown everyone in the area that when you come together and put forth a vision -- you can do anything. Even build a bridge.

For weeks we’ve been telling you about the vote at Hillsborough County Commissioners and we’ve reverse the course toward demolition that we have been on for four years. Commissioners Beckner, Sharpe and Crist took the lead and the vote ended up being unanimous.

Why did they reverse course? You convinced them. The county released a statement today saying they delayed the demolition after “Commissioners’ offices received hundreds of calls and emails from citizens wanting to save the Bridge.”

Your calls, your emails, and your work won this vote today. But our victory today is just the beginning.

Our next task is to complete a full inspection and engineering study of the Friendship Trail Bridge. We are going to be evaluating several engineering options and funding methods.

How we won today is how we will get over the next hurdle -- with your help.

We are now accepting donations thanks to the help of our partner Creative Tampa Bay.

Many people counted you out over the last 90 days. They called us “dreamers” and claimed the decision was already made. But you proved them wrong. We can’t stop now.

All these donations will add up together to help us reach our initial goal of $100,000 to start our study.

Also, we are having a meeting on Monday at 6PM for everyone to get involved. It will be in Tampa at the AIA headquarters. We will set up committees to work on Public Relations, Community Outreach, Fundraising, Events, and more. We will to need your help no matter what you can afford to give today.

Thank you again. You saved the bridge today -- tomorrow you will help us transform it into a linear park over the bay.

We can’t wait to join you for a walk, run or ride on the bridge again someday.